University Senate is cracking down on academic dishonesty, making it difficult for students and professors to shove counts of misconduct under the rug.
Academic misconduct refers to things like cheating on a test, plagiarism, making false claims about group participations or helping others commit dishonesty, according to the Student Academic Ethics Policy passed Thursday by the University Senate.
The policy calls for students to be documented for all cases of misconduct, and if a student commits two counts or more, he or she will have to appear at a hearing and answer to a faculty panel. The panel then makes a recommendation of punishment to the provost, Terry King, and he has the right to suspend or expel a student if he sees fit.
"One major point is there's no second offense," Associate Provost Marilyn Buck said.
Two components of the document were voted on Thursday: multiple offense review and ways of enforcing punishment.
The Senate also continued to discuss online teacher evaluations. Some say they will be more efficient than paper evaluations, but some senators worry that students won't participate.
Buck said at least having evaluations online keeps professors from giving students incentives in class to respond with positive comments on the evaluation, and she hopes students will fill them out online.
"All they have to do is click," she said. "It's easier than filling in the bubbles."
Some classes are already using a pilot version of the online evaluations, and Buck said she took one of the evaluations, which offers sections for comments and course evaluations separately, following a list of general questions. The committee presented a universal policy, but it may be adapted for the needs of each department.
Jim Ruebel, Faculty Athletics Representative, reported that the Mid-American Conference is going through a series of changes with a new strategic plan and structural reorganization.
After two years as chairperson, Brien Smith left on a thoughtful note. He said the virtues of the Senate are seen over the long run, but not always in the short term.
"It's one of the few voices we have all together, and one of the few constructive voices," he said.
Eric Kelly, urban planning professor and chairperson of University Senate for the next school year, said he wants to see University Senate offering ideas to the administration even when they aren't asked for.
"We're supposed to be about shared governance," he said. "It's about representing the group outside the group."
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